subject: Learn Ninjutsu - Using The "pendulum Striking Method" From The Ninja's Unarmed Self Defense Art [print this page] The art of Ninjutsu is known for its mystical and unorthodox skills, techniques, and tactics. But, when one studies to understand the secrets of the art, they find that these strange skills are born of strategic application, and not the typical, "our style does it this way," mentality that you find in other systems today.
This article focuses on one of these strange methods - the pendulum striking, also known as sanshin striking - which lies at the foundation of the new student's training. In fact, this strike is a part of the very first "form" learned by most students training in the Bujinkan Dojo of Grandmaster Hatsumi.
Strange-looking to say the least, the Ninja's sanshin uchi, or what I call "pendulum striking," is unlike most strikes that you will find in the conventional styles of martial arts. Resembling more of the arm swing used in bowling, it is hard for some students to see how this strike could have any kind of power or damage potential at all.
And yet, this very important strike within the Ninja practitioner's arsenal is capable of, literally, taking an attacker off his feet with half the energy needed by the conventional karate puncher, mixed martial artist, or boxer!
To give you an idea of the physics behind this powerful striking method, I want you to think about a crane with a wrecking ball dangling from the boom. Alone, it just hangs there. It doesn't seem dangerous, unless of course, it were to break free and fall onto something.
But, when the crane operator gets the chain and ball swinging, and can match the movement of the machine with the timing of the swinging ball...
Look Out!
Because, when that ball hits anything, the resulting damage is amazing.
And, that's the secret to the pendulum striking method in Ninpo-taijutsu - the Ninja's unarmed self defense method. When the arm is moved and propelled from your body's core, and allowed to work with gravity - along with inertia, etc. - the resulting strike when the fist meets your attacker's body target is devastating!
In addition to the damage potential of this secret strike, you also get these extra benefits:
* The strike doesn't look like a conventional strike, so the attacker isn't as ready for it
* The strike comes up from beneath the opponent's peripheral vision, so very often, he won't even see it coming!
* The upward swing of the strike causes the attacker's body to be lifted, which cuts down on his ability to move quickly
* Etc.
The point here, as with all things in Ninjutsu, is to use Natural Movement, in alignment with the concepts, principles, and governing laws of Nature...
...to give the Ninja the power, advantage, and control of any situation that you could find yourself in!
